Hurdle
by CanaryCry
Summary: All it took was Wally getting seriously injured on a mission for Dick to finally work up the courage to say "I love you."


**A/N: Inspired by a prompt from an anonymous tumblr user.**

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From day one, Wally had always been far more of an open book than Dick could ever allow himself to be. Complicated emotions were tricky for both of them, though Wally was more likely to eat his feelings and get over it while Dick preferred to lock himself in his room and sulk.

The first time Wally had told Dick he loved him, Dick had frozen up. It wasn't that he had a problem with it, exactly. It was just… nobody had said that to him since he lost his family. As great as Bruce and Alfred were, they weren't much for verbal declarations.

Thankfully, an emergency requiring his attention in Gotham had given Dick an out that time, and Wally hadn't pressed the issue. Dick tried not to think about it too much.

Until, about a month later, a mission went catastrophically wrong. A mission that Dick had been unable to go on because he had been injured on patrol. He hadn't argued too heavily at the time, because he hadn't wanted to be a liability, but as he stepped out of the zeta tube upon arriving at Mount Justice, he wished he had.

Most of the team was gathered in the living area, limp in their chairs like deflated balloons. Wally was not among them.

"Where's Wally?" The words tumbled out before Dick could calm down enough to stop his voice from shaking.

Artemis lifted her head off her arms. "Med bay."

"Why? What happened?"

"A giant robot with a laser happened. Conner got hit too, but it just paralysed his arm for a few minutes."

That… sounded bad. Dick was off and running before Artemis could elaborate further. Black Canary was just exiting the med bay when he skidded to a halt in front of her.

"Wally's going to be fine," she said gently. "He's just resting now."

"C-can I see him?"

"Of course." Black Canary gently pushed him towards the door. Dick peeked inside. Wally lay eerily still beneath pale blue bedsheets, his eyes closed. His freckles stood out starkly against his sickly pale skin. Save for the rise and fall of his chest, he looked like a corpse. Dick should know; he'd seen enough of them over the years.

Biting down on the panic rising in his throat, Dick sat down, scooting his chair as close to Wally's beside as possible.

Wally stirred. "Ngh?"

"Good morning, sunshine."

Wally cracked his eyes open, groaned at the light and shut them again. "Dick?"

"Good to know the laser doesn't seem to have affected your memory." Dick was still freaking out a little inside, but having Wally in front of him, alive and conscious, did wonders for his state of mind.

"Yeah. Good." Wally tried opening his eyes again, squinting a little at Dick's face. "When'd you get here?"

"A few minutes ago. Artemis told me you got lasered by a giant robot."

"Did I pass out?"

"I assume so. I wasn't there." Dick couldn't help the bitterness that seeped into his voice.

"Don't even think about blaming yourself. How's your shoulder?"

"It's fine. I'm not the one in a hospital bed, am I?"

Wally reached for his hand, squeezing as soon as he made contact. "You can't watch my back 24/7, Dick. Sometimes I've got to take care of myself."

"Would you just let me enjoy seeing you alive for a moment?" Dick snapped, before clapping a hand over his mouth. He hadn't meant for that to sound so harsh.

"Moment's up. I'm not letting you blame yourself whenever I get hurt."

"As if you don't do the same thing."

Wally opened his mouth, and then closed it again. "Okay, point. I still don't want you blaming yourself."

"I could say the same to you," Dick muttered. "How about we just both admit we're hypocrites and move on?"

"If you insist," Wally grumbled. Dick gave into the urge to kiss his cheeks. Wally caught him before he could pull away and pressed their lips together.

"I love you," Dick breathed, resting his forehead against Wally's.

Wally let out a soft chuckle. "I really scared you, didn't I?"

"You might have," Dick hedged. Wally smiled weakly at him.

"I'm sorry for scaring you. I love you too."

Dick smiled back, relief flooding into every muscle in his body. They'd overcome a hurdle in their relationship, and Wally was going to be okay.


End file.
